Experiment

Chapter 19: Xaiver

The bobcat hybrid leaned down to bite Laura's neck, but Lee batted it off, singeing its fur. The bobcat hybrid jumped off, hissing. It caused a great commotion, everyone screaming and backing away while the bobcat hybrid jumped around, lunging for the other hybrids.

"Lee! It's not one of ours!" Shouted Neo above the noise.

"Theodore! Freeze it!" said Lee.

The bobcat hybrid was about to jump on Theodore, the deer hybrid, but he lifted up his hoove-like hands and the bobcat hybrid just stopped. It was still there, in mid-air, like it was frozen in time.

Neo examined it for a minute, then said to Theodore, "Let it's head move." He flexed his fingers, and the bobcat hybrid's head was free to move around. He was quite an ugly thing, with brown, ragged fur all over his body, some in patches, along with plenty of battle scars and pointed ears. He must have been double dosed, but he had some human features too, blazing green human eyes and a vague human form. He spat and hissed and moved his head around like he was struggling, but he eventually gave up, still seething.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Asked Neo.

The bobcat hybrid glared at him, but began to talk reluctantly in a gravelly voice. "They used to call me . . . Xavier. But then, something bad happened . . . I got sent away to this horrible place where everyone was a half - animal. They turned me into this, and tested on me . . . they would never leave me alone, and there was so much pain . . ."

The other hybrids drew nearer, curious and sympathetic about Xavier's story. But Laura, not at all sympathetic, was backing away and glaring at him.

"But then one day I found a way . . . and I escaped. They didn't care, saying, 'Let it run away, it's a . . . failure. It will be dead by sunrise.' "

"What's your power?" said Neo.

Xaiver looked confused. "Power? Ahh, yes, power. Mine shouldn't even be called that, for it is feeling the pain of everything that's close to me. That's why I eat small animals, because their pain is less, and it's easier to . . . to . . ." Xaiver turned wild again, and broke free from Theodore. He attacked Laura again, but this time picked her up in his mouth and started to lope back to the woods, but Trudy ran after him, knocked him down and wrestled him to the ground.

"You'll not hurt my friend!" Trudy said with fierce anger. She slapped him across the face and Laura landed on the grass nearby. Xavier ran spitting into the darkened woods, never to be seen again.

Neo ran to Laura and knelt down. "Laura! Are you okay?" She started to shakily get up.

"Just a few scratches." she winced.

Neo looked around hurriedly and picked off the tip of a sprout that had dull thorns on it and gave it to Laura.

"What's that?"

"Aloe vera." he smiled. "I'm not the only one who knows plants. It will help your cuts."

After she had applied it, it felt better, and he also gave her a plant to help heal her wings, because they had scratches in them too. But in the meanwhile, she couldn't fly.

"Since your wings are hurt, would you, um, you know, since . . ." he blushed. "Do you want me to carry you in my hands?"

"Okay." Laura smiled and stepped onto Neo's soft palm.

And so, with all the hybrids ready to move on towards the goal, Laura took one last look up at Neo, cradled against his chest, and blissfully fell asleep with the sound of his heartbeat.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next three months passed by. Laura and Chess's wounds healed, but left Chess with a permanent limp. They didn't meet many people on the first leg of the trip, but as they got nearer to Salt Lake City, they had to put on their costumes more often, and go by in little groups, for fifty kids with strange - looking clothes going by would be too suspicious.

They really had a surprisingly easy trip, for going through the Utah wilderness with fifty kids to feed, heal, and move along, even though they did have their hard times, like when they ran into a skunk nest or when James ran out of medicine.

But when they finished the trek, they all knew it was well worth it. Worth it to make this right. Worth it to help their fellow hybrids. Worth it for justice. Because the building in front of them was the biggest amphitheater in the whole world. And they were going in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hello, my little hybrids! Hope the chapter was good, and I'm very happy in coming so far in this book. I've seen many stories that looked like they were going to be great, but then the author just stopped writing them! Anyways, have a great day, and peace out!

_pure_imagination_